Culture for your kids

When I was a kid growing up my parents were patrons of the arts.  They had season tickets to 2 theaters in San Francisco and spent every other Saturday in the "City" (as we call it) going to watch a show and dine out with friends.  Subsequently I also spent a lot of time in the "City".  Whether we were shopping, site seeing or dining out.  All of which are my favorite activities to this day.  

As I am now a parent I find it easy to stay at home with little kids.  I mean, it takes real effort to prepare for the day, load up, entertain and stay cheery with antsy little boys in the car or waiting in line for something.  But what I have come to learn is the more you do things with your kids the better they are at being in public.  Taking them out to eat can be a challenge for a 3 year old.  But if you are consistent with your efforts, they become a very patient 4 year old.

So this year I took the boys to San Francisco for the lighting of the tree in Union Square and site seeing in the city.  We walked to Coit Tower and saw the "City" from a bird's eye view.  We enjoyed the Merry Go Round at Pier 39.  We watched the street performers along Fisherman's Wharf.  Rode a cable car to Union Square; which stalled and we had to get a push start up hill.  After watching the tree lighting ceremony along with thousand's of other holiday onlookers we caught a taxi back to where we stayed the night.  When we awoke we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped for photo op.  


This was a memory that I will always cherish.  The boys want to go again next year and go to Chinatown and eat in Little Italy.  Sounds like a plan to me!

So the next time you decide to just stay at home, push yourself to go out instead.  Create a passion for culture in your kids.  

Teach them to Live Life Out Loud Culturally.